Assessing the determinants of influenza and COVID-19 vaccine co-administration decisions in the elderly.

This research examines the low rate of co-administration of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines among seniors aged 65 and older in Korea, despite recommendations from authorities and academia worldwide. The study aimed to understand the influence of general characteristics and health beliefs on the vaccination choices of seniors, who were categorized into four groups based on their vaccination status: influenza only, COVID-19 only, both, or neither. A total of 400 participants, aged 65 and above, were selected through proportional stratified random sampling from five major Korean regions for a survey conducted between November 24th and December 15th, 2023. The results indicated no significant differences in general characteristics across these groups. However, regarding the health beliefs showed significant differences in perceived susceptibility and self-efficacy between the influenza-only and co-administration groups. Higher levels of perceived susceptibility and self-efficacy were associated with choosing co-administration. Contrary to previous studies focusing on safety concerns as a primary factor in vaccine hesitancy, this study highlights the role of individual health-related beliefs, particularly perceived susceptibility and self-efficacy, as critical in influencing the decision for co-administration among the elderly in Korea.

Nernst-Planck analysis of reverse-electrodialysis with the thin-composite pore-filling membranes and its upscaling potential.

To properly design reverse electrodialysis (RED) stacks, modeling of ion transport and prediction of power generation on the single RED stack are very important. Currently, the Nernst-Planck equation is widely adopted to simulate ion transport through IEMs. However, applying typical Nernst-Planck equation is not proper to analyze ion transport through the heterogeneous thin-composite pore-filling membrane because of the non-conductive site in the membrane matrix. Herein, we firstly introduced modified Nernst-Planck equation by addressing conductive traveling length (CTL) to simulate the ion transport through the thin-composite pore-filling membranes and the performance of a single RED stack with the same membranes. Also, 100 cell-pairs of RED stacks were assembled to validate modified Nernst-Planck equation according to the flow rate and membrane types. Under the OCV condition, the conductivity of the effluents was measured to validate the modified Nernst-Planck equation, and differences between modeling and experiments were less than 1.5 mS/cm. Theoretical OCV and current density were estimated by using modified Nernst-Planck equation. In particular, hydrophobicity on the surface of the heterogeneous membrane was considered to describe ion transport through the pore-filling membranes. Moreover, power generation from RED stacks was calculated according to the flow rate and the number of cell pairs.

Analysis of caudal epidurogram in single center: A preliminary study of lumbar radiculopathy management.

A caudal epidural block involves placing a needle through the sacral hiatus and delivering medication into the epidural space. The procedure is safe and simple, but failure rates can be as high as 25%. The purpose of this study was to investigate the success rate of caudal epidural block by analyzing needle placement and dye flow pattern.We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients who underwent caudal epidural block under spinal stenosis. A case was defined as a failure if it met at least one of the following four criteria: the epidural needle was not placed correctly inside the caudal canal; blood regurgitation or aspiration in the needle was observed; the contrast dye was injected into a blood vessel; or a large amount of the dye leaked into the sacral foramen or did not reach the L5-S1 level.At least 1 failure criterion was observed in 14 cases (17.7%), while none of the failure criteria were satisfied in 65 successful cases (82.3%).No matter how experienced the anesthesiologist may be, delivery of adequate therapeutic agent is not achieved in approximately 20% of cases. Therefore, we recommend fluoroscopy-guided needle placement and confirmation by radio-contrast epidurograpy as the best choice.

Development of the Geop-Pain questionnaire for multidisciplinary assessment of pain sensitivity.

BACKGROUND: To assess the multidisciplinary aspects of pain, various self-rating questionnaires have been developed, but there have not been sufficient relevant studies on this topic in South Korea. The aim of this study was to develop a new pain sensitivity-related questionnaire in the Korean language that would be simple and would well reflect Koreans' senses. METHODS: A new pain assessment questionnaire was developed through a pre-survey on "geop", which is the Korean word expressing fear, anxiety, or catastrophizing. We named the new assessment questionnaire the Geop-Pain Questionnaire (GPQ). The GPQ was composed of 15 items divided into three categories and rated on a 5-point scale. As a preliminary study, internal consistency and test-retest reliability analyses were conducted. Subsequently, 109 individuals completed the GPQ along with three pain-related questionnaires translated into Korean (Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire [PSQ], Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale [PASS], and Pain Catastrophizing Scale [PCS]), and the correlations were analyzed. RESULTS: All items in the GPQ showed appropriate internal consistency, and the test-retest reliability analysis showed no statistically significant differences. The correlations between the GPQ and the existing questionnaires revealed that the GPQ scores had mid-positive correlations with the PSQ scores and strong positive correlations with the PASS and PCS scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study attempted to develop a questionnaire assessing pain sensitivity multidimensionally using the Korean word geop for the first time. The self-rating GPQ showed high correlations with the existing questionnaires and demonstrated potential to be utilized as a pain prediction index in clinical practice.

Effect of stellate ganglion block on laryngopharyngeal reflux disease.

BACKGROUND: Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) disease has many symptoms such as globus pharyngeus, excessive throat clearing and hoarseness. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of stellate ganglion block (SGB) in addition to proton pump inhibitors (PPI) on LPR. METHODS: Fifty patients complaining of more than 3 typical LPR symptoms for over 3 months were enrolled in the study. The P group took PPI for 8 weeks. The SP group took PPI and interwent a series of 8 SGB procedure once a week during the period of treatment. The blocks were performed one at a time unilaterally on the right and left stellate ganglions by injecting 1% mepivacaine 6 ml. We evaluated the reflux symptom index (RSI) before treatment and following 4 weeks and 8 weeks of treatment in both groups. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of treatment, the RSI of the P group decreased, but not significantly, to 16.6 ± 6.8 compared with the baseline value of 19.2 ± 2.7 (P = 0.093), whereas the RSI of the SP group decreased significantly to 9.8 ± 3.3 compared with the baseline value of 19.0 ± 4.7 (P = 0.000). After 8 weeks of treatment, the RSI of the P group decreased significantly to 13.7 ± 6.7 (P = 0.001) and the RSI of the SP group also decreased significantly to 7.7 ± 3.4 (P = 0.000). There were significant differences in the RSI between the two groups after 4 weeks (P = 0.000) and 8 weeks (P = 0.001) of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The symptoms of LPR improved earlier when PPI therapy was combined with SGB compared with PPI therapy alone.

A survey on informed consent process for epidural analgesia in labor pain in Korea.

BACKGROUND: There is a legal obligation to explain the procedure and use of epidural analgesia in labor primarily due to the possibility of potential risks and associated complications. The present study details on the survey carried out to ascertain the current status of obtaining informed consent (IC) for explaining the epidural analgesia in labor. METHODS: The present study is based on a survey through a telephone questionnaire that covered all the hospitals in Korea where the anesthesiologists' belonged to and are registered with Korean Society of Anesthesiologists. The questionnaire included questions pertaining to administration of epidural analgesia to a parturient, information on different steps of obtaining an IC, whether patient status was evaluated, when the consent was obtained, and the reasons behind, if the consent had not being given. RESULTS: A total of 1,434 respondents took part in the survey, with a response rate of 97% (1,434/1,467). One hundred seventy-four hospitals had conducted epidural analgesia on the parturient. The overall rate of obtaining IC for epidural analgesia during labor was 85%, of which only 13% was conducted by anesthesiologists. The rate of evaluating preoperative patient status was 74%, of which 45% was conducted by anesthesiologists. Almost all of the consent was obtained prior to the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of obtaining IC for epidural analgesia in labor is relatively high (85%) in Korea. However, it is necessary to discuss the content of the consent and the procedure followed for obtaining IC during the rapid progress of labor.

Gastrodia elata Blume protects against stress-induced gastric mucosal lesions in mice.

Gastrodia elata Blume (GEB) is a traditional herbal plant that has been used in Asian countries for centuries as an anticonvulsant, analgesic, and also as a sedative for treating general paralysis, epilepsy, vertigo, and tetanus. Although numerous reports have addressed the effects of GEB against degenerative diseases, no previous study has examined the possible gastroprotective effects of GEB. Here, we examined the effects of pretreatment with GEB (0.02 ml/g, p.o.) in a mouse water immersion restraint (WIR) stress-induced gastric lesion model. Our results revealed that mice pretreated with GEB had significantly fewer gastric lesions than their respective controls. Moreover, GEB-treated mice showed significant decreases in serum and gastric nitric oxide (NO) levels to 50 and 28%, respectively. To examine one possible mechanism underlying this effect, we used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to examine NOS mRNA expression in gastric lesion tissues. Our results revealed that the mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was reduced by approximately 50% in GEB-pretreated mice versus the controls, whereas the mRNA expression levels of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) remained unchanged. These findings collectively suggest that GEB significantly protects the gastric mucosa against WIR-induced gastric damage, at least in part by decreasing NO levels via suppression of iNOS mRNA expression.